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<h1 align=center>The True Religion</h1>
<em><p align=center>By Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips</p></em>

<hr>

<h2>THE RELIGION OF ISLAM</h2>

<p>   The first thing that one  should  know  and  clearly
understand  about  Islam  is  what  the  word   "Islam"
itself means.  The religion of Islam is not named  after
a person as in  the  case  of  Christianity  which  was
named  after  Jesus  Christ,  Buddhism   after   Gotama
Buddha,    Confucianism    after     Confucius,     and
Marxism after Karl Marx.  Nor  was  it  named  after  a
tribe  like  Judaism  after  the  tribe  of  Judah  and
Hinduism after the Hindus.  Islam is the  true  religion
of  "Allah"  and  as  such,  its  name  represents  the
central principle  of  Allah's  "God's"  religion;  the
total submission  to  the  will  of  Allah  "God".  The
Arabic   word   "Islam"   means   the   submission   or
surrender  of   one's will  to the only true god   worthy of
worship "Allah"  and  anyone  who  does  so  is  termed
a "Muslim", The word  also  implies  "peace"  which  is
the natural consequence  of  total  submission  to  the
will of Allah. Hence, it was not a new religion  brought
by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)     I  in Arabia  in  the
seventh century, but only the true  religion  of  Allah
re-expressed in its final form.
</p>
<p>   Islam is the religion which  was  given  to  Adam,  the
first man and the first prophet of Allah, and it was  the
religion of all the prophets sent  by  Allah  to  mankind.
The   name   of   God's   religion lslam was   not   decided
upon by  later  generations  of  man.  It  was  chosen  by
Allah  Himself  and  clearly  mentioned   in   His   final
revelation  to  man.  In  the   final   book   of   divine
revelation,  the  Qur'aan,  Allah  states  the  following:</p>

<p> <BLOCKQUOTE><strong>  "This day have  I  perfected  your  religion  for
you,
completed  My   favour   upon   you,   and   have   chosen
for you Islam as your religion".</strong>
<A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/005.qmt.html#005.003">(Soorah
Al-Maa'idah
5:3)</BLOCKQUOTE></A></p>

<p>  <BLOCKQUOTE><strong> "If  anyone  desires  a  religion  other   than
Islam
(submission to Allah  (God)  never  will  It  be  accepted
of Him" </strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/003.qmt.html#003.085">(Soorah
Aal'imraan 3:85)</A></BLOCKQUOTE></p>

<p>  <BLOCKQUOTE><strong> "Abraham was not a Jew nor Christian; but an
upright
Muslim." </strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/003.qmt.html#003.067">(Soorah
Aal'imraan 3:67)</A></BLOCKQUOTE></p>

<p>   Nowhere in the Bible will  you  find  Allah  saying  to
Prophet  Moses'   people   or   their   descendants   that
their religion is Judaism,  nor  to  the  followers  of
Christ that their religion is  Christianity.  In  fact,
Christ was not even his name, nor  was  it  Jesus!  The
name "Christ" comes  from  the  Greek  word  Christos
which  means  the  annointed.  That  is,  Christ  is  a
Greek translation of the Hebrew  title  "Messiah".  The
name  "Jesus"  on  the  other  hand,  is  a   latinized
version of the Hebrew name Esau.</p>
<p>
  For simplicity's sake, I  will  however  continue  to
refer to Prophet Esau  (PBUH)  as  Jesus.  As  for  his
religion, it was what he called his followers to.  Like
the prophets  before  him,  he  called  the  people  to
surrender their will to the will of  Allah;  (which  is
Islam) and  he  warned  them  to  stay  away  from  the
false gods of human imagination.</p>
<p>
  According  to  the  New  Testament,  he  taught   his
followers to pray as follows: "Yours will  be  done  on
earth as it is in Heaven".</p>
<p>
<h2>THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM</h2></p>
<p>

  Since the total submission of  one's  will  to  Allah
represents  the   essence   of   worship,   the   basic
message  of  Allah's  divine  religion,  Islam  is  the
worship of Allah alone and  the  avoidance  of  worship
directed to any  person,  place  or  thing  other  than
Allah.Since everything other than Allah, the Creator
of all things, is Allah's creation; it may be said  that
Islam, in  essence  calls  man  away  from  the  worship
of  creation  and  invites  him  to  worship  only   its
Creator.  He is the  only  one  deserving  man's  worship
as it is only by His will that prayers are answered.  If
man prays to a tree and his  prayers  are  answered,  it
was  not  the  tree  which  answered  his  prayers   but
Allah  who  allowed  the  circumstances  prayed  for  to
take  place.  One  might   say,   "That   is   obvious,"
however,  to   tree-worshippers   it   might   not   be.
Similarly, prayers to  Jesus,  Buddha,  or  Krishna,  to
Saint  Christopher,   or   Saint   Jude   or   even   to
Muhammad,   are   not   answered   by   them   but   are
answered by  Allah.  Jesus  did  nottell  his followers to
worship  him  but  to  worship  Allah.  As  the  Qur'aan
states:</p>
<p>

<blockquote><strong>"And behold Allah    will say:  "O  Jesus  the  son  of
Mary Did  you  say  to   men,   Worship   me   and   my
mother as gods  besides  Allah He  will  say-"Glory  to
  you I could never say what I had  no  right  (to  say')"</strong>
<A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/005.qmt.html#005.116">  (Soorah
Al-Maa'idah- 5:116)</A></blockquote></p>
<p>
    Nor  did  he  worship  himself  when  he   worshipped
  but rather he worshipped Allah.  This basic principle  is
  enshrined  in  the  opening  chapter  of  the  Qur'aan,
  known as<A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/001.qmt.html#001.004">
Soorah
Al-Faatihah, verse 4:</a></p>
<p>

   <blockquote><strong> "You alone do  we  worship  and  from  you  alone  do
  we seek help".</strong></blockquote>
  Elsewhere,  in  the  final  book  of  revelation,   the
  Qur'aan, Allah also said:</p>
<p>
<blockquote><strong>
    "And your Lord says:"Call on Me  and  I  will  answer
  your(prayer)."</strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/040.qmt.html#040.060">(Soorsh Mu'min
40:60)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>

  it is worth noting that the basic message  of  Islam  is
that Allah  and  His  creation  are  distinctly  different
entities.  Neither is Allah His creation or a part of  it,  nor is
His creation Him or a part of Him.</p>
<p>

This  might  seem  obvious,   but,   man's   worship   of
creation instead of the Creator  is  to  a  large  degree
based on ignorance of this concept.  It is the belief that
the essence of Allah is everywhere  in  His  creation  or
that His divine being is or was present in  some  aspects
of His creation, which has provided justification for the
worship  of  creation  though  such  worship  maybecalled
the worship of Allah through his creation.  How ever,  the
message of Islam as brought by the prophets of  Allah  is
to worship only Allah and to avoid  the  worship  of  his
creation either directly or indirectly.
In the Our'aan Allah clearlystates:</p>
<p>

 <blockquote><strong> "For  We  assuredly  sent   amongst   every   people
a  prophet,(with  the  command) worship   meand   avoid
false gods " </strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/016.qmt.html#016.036">(Soorsh Al-Nahl
16:36)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>
  When the idol worshipper is  questioned  as  to  why
he or she bows down  to  idols  created  by  men,  the
invariable  reply  is  that  they  are  not   actually
worshipping  the  stone  image,  but  Allah   who   is
present within it.  They claim that the stone  idol  is
only a focal point for Allah's essence and is  not  in
itself Allah! One who  has  accepted  the  concept  of
the presence of God's being  within  His  creation  in
any way will be obliged to  accept  this  argument  of
idolatry.  Whereas,  one  who  understands  the  basic
message  of  Islam  and  its  implications  would   never
concede to idolatry no matter  how  it  is  rationalized.
Those  who   have   claimed   divinity   for   themselves
down  through   the   ages   have   often   based   their
claims on the mistaken belief that Allah  is  present  in
man.  They  merely  had  to  assert  that  although  Allah
according to their false beliefs, is in all of us, He  is
more present in them than  in  the  rest  of  us.  Hence,
they claim,  we  should  submit  our  will  to  them  and
worship  them  as  they  are  either  God  in  person  or
God concentrated within the person.</p>
<p>

  Similarly,  those  who  have   asserted   the   godhood
of  others  after  their  passing  have   found   fertile
ground  among  those  who  accept  the  false  belief  of
God's  presence  in  man.  One  who   has   grasped   the
basic  message  of  Islam  and  its  implications   could
never  agree  to  worship  another  human   being   under
any  circumstances.  God's  religion  in  essence  is   a
clear  call  to  the  worship  of  the  Creator  and  the
rejection of   creation-worship in any form. This is the
meaning of the motto of Islam:</p>
<p>

                 "Laa Elaaha lllallaah"
            (There is no god but Allah)</p>
<p>

  Its repetition automatically brings one within the
fold of Islam and sincere belief in it  guarantees  one
Paradise. <blockquote><em> Thus,  the  final  Prophet   of   Islam   is
reported to have said, "Any  one  who  says:  There  is
no god but Allah and dies holding  that  (belief)  will
enter   paradise".</em>(Reported   by    Abu    Dharr    and
collected by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).</blockquote></p>
<p>

  It consists in the submission to Allah  as  one  God,
yielding  to  Him  by  obeying   His commandments,   and
the denial of polytheism and polytheists.</p>
<p>

<h2>THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGION</h2></p>
<p>

  There  are   so   many   sects,   cults,   religions,
philosophies,  and  movements  in  the  world,  all  of
which claim to be the right way or the only  true  path
to  Allah.  How  can  one  determine   which   one   is
correct or if, in fact, all are correct? The method  by
which the answer can be found  is  to  clear  away  the
superficial  differences  in  the  teachings   of   the
various claimants to the ultimate truth,  and  identify
the central object  of  worship  to  which  they  call,
directly or indirectly.  False  religions  all  have  in
common  one  basic  concept  with  regards  to   Allah.
They either  claim  that  all  men  are  gods  or  that
specific men were Allah or  that  nature  is  Allah  or
that Allah is a figment of man's imagination.</p>
<p>

  Thus, it may be stated that  the  basic  message  of
false religion is that Allah may be worshipped in  the
form of His creation.  False religion  invites  man  to
the worship of creation by  calling  the  creation  or
some aspect of it  God.  For  example,  prophet  Jesus
invited his followers to worship Allah but  those  who
claim  to  be  his  followers  today  call  people  to
worship Jesus, claiming that he was Allah!</p>
<p>

  Buddha  was  a  reformer  who  introduced  a  number
of humanistic principles to the religion of India.  He
did not claim to be God nor  did  he  suggest  to  his
followers that he be an object of worship.  Yet,  today
most Buddhists who are to be found  outside  of  India
have taken him  to  be  God  and  prostrate  to  idols
made in their perception of his likeness.</p>
<p>

  By using the principle of identifying the object  of
worship,  false  religion  becomes  very  obvious  and
the contrived nature of their  origin  clear.  As  God
said in the Our'aan:</p>
<p>

 That  which   you   worship   besides   Him   are   only
names  you  and  your  forefathers  have   invented   for
which   Allah   has   sent   down   no   authority:   The
command belongs only to Allah:</p>
<p>
  <blockquote><strong>He  has  commanded   that   you   only   worship   Him;
that  is  the  right  religion,  but  most  men  do   not
understand ". </strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/012.qmt.html#012.040">(Soorah Yoosuf
12:40)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>

  It  may  be  argued  that  all  religions  teach   good
things so why should  it  matter  which  one  we  follow.
The reply is that all false religions teach the  greatest
evil, the worship of creation.  Creation-worship  is  the
greatest   sin   that   man   can   commit   because   it
contradicts  the  very  purpose  of  his  creation.   Man
was  created  to  worship  Allah  alone  as   Allah   has
explicitly stated in the Our'aan:</p>
<p>
 <blockquote><strong>
  "I have only created  Jlnns  and  men,  that  they  may
worship me"</strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/051.qmt.html#051.056">(Soorah
Zaareeyaat
51:56)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>
  Consequently,  the  worship  of  creation,   which   is
the essence of idolatry, is the  only  unforgivable  sin.
One who dies in this state of  idolatry  has  sealed  his
fate in the next life.  This is  not  an  opinion,  but  a
revealed fact stated by Allah in his final revelation  to
man:</p>
<p>
<blockquote><strong>
  "Verily  Allah  will  not  forgive  the   joining   of
partners with  Him,  but  He  may  forgive  (sins)  less
than  that  for   whom so ever   He   wishes"</strong><A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/004.qmt.html#004.048">(Soorah   An-
Nisaa 4:48 and 116)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>

<h2>THE UNIVERSALITY OF ISLAM</h2></p>
<p>

  Since  the  consequences  of  false  religion  are  so
grave, the true religion of Allah  must  be  universally
understandable  and  attainable,  not  confined  to  any
people, place or  time.  There  can  not  be  conditions
like baptism, belief in a man, as a saviour etc., for  a
believer  to  enter   paradise.   Within   the   central
principle  of  Islam  and  in   its   definition,   (the
surrender of one's  will  to  God)  lies  the  roots  of
lslam's  universality.  Whenever  man   comes   to   the
realization that Allah is  one  and  distinct  from  His
creation, and  submits  himself  to  Allah,  he  becomes
a  Muslim  in  body  and  spirit  and  is  eligible  for
paradise.  Thus,  anyone  at   anytime   in   the   most
remote region of  the  world  can  become  a  Muslim,  a
follower of God's religion, Islam, by  merely  rejecting
the  worship  of  creation  and  by  turning  to   Allah
(God)  alone-It  should  be  noted  however,  that   the
recognition of and submission  to  Allah  requires  that
one  chooses  between  right  and  wrong  and   such   a
choice  implies  accountability.  Man   will   be   held
 responsible for his choices, and, as such,  he  should
 try  his  utmost  to  do  good  and  avoid  evil.  The
 ultimate good being the worship  of  Allah  alone  and
 the ultimate evil being the worship  of  His  creation
 along with or instead of Allah.  This fact  is expressed
 in the final revelation as follows:</p>
<p>

  <blockquote><strong> "Verily those who  believe,  those  who  follow  the
 Jewish (Scriptures), the Christians  and  the  Sabians
 any who believe In Allah and the last  day,  and  work
 righteousness  *hall  have  their  reward  with  their
 Lord;They will not be overcome by fear nor grief</strong>
 <A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.062">(Soorah
Al-Baqarah
2:62).</a></blockquote></p>
<p>
<blockquote><strong>
    If only they had stood by the law, the Gospel,  and
 all the revelation that was sent to  them  from  their
Lord, they would  have  enjoyed  happiness  from  every
 side.  There Is from among them a party  on  the  right
course; but many  of  them  follow  a  course  that  Is
evil.". </strong> <A
HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/005.qmt.html#005.066">(Soorah
Al-.Maa'idah 5:66)</a></blockquote></p>
<p>

<h2>RECOGNITION OF ALLAH</h2></p>
<p>

  The question which  arises  here  is,  "How  can  all
people be expected to  believe  in  Allah  given  their
varying-  backgrounds,  societies  and  cultures?   For
people to be responsible  for  worshipping  Allah  they
all have to have access  to  knowledge  of  Allah.  The
final revelation teaches  that  all  mankind  have  the
recognition of Allah imprinted on their souls,  a  part
of their very nature with which they are created.</p>
<p>

In  <A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/007.qmt.html#007.172"> Soorah

Al-A'raaf,    Verses    172-173;</a>    Allah
explained  that  when  He  created  Adam,   He   caused
all  of  Adam's  descendants  to  come  into  existence
and took a pledge from  them  saying,  Am  I  not  your
Lord? To which they all replied, " Yes, we testify to It:'</p>

 <p>
Allah then  explained  why  He  had  all  of  mankind
bear witness that He is their  creator  and  only  true
God worthy of worship.  He  said,  "That  was  In  case
you   (mankind)   should   say   on    the    day    of
Resurrection, "Verily we were  unaware  of  all  this."
That is to say, we had no idea  that  You  Allah,  were
our  God.  No  one   told   us that we were only supposed
to worship You alone. Allah went on to explain   That
it was also In case you should say, "Certainly  It  was
our  ancestors  who  made  partners  (With  Allah)  and
we are only their descendants; will  You  then  destroy
us for what those liars  did?"  Thus,  every  child  is
born with a natural  belief  in  Allah  and  an  inborn
inclination to worship Him alone called in  Arabic  the
"Fitrah".</p>
<p>

  If the child were left alone, he would worship  Allah
in his own way, but all children are affected by  those
things  around  them,  seen  or  unseen. <blockquote><em> The   Prophet
(PBUH)  reported  that  Allah  said,  "I   created   my
servants in the right religion  but  devils  made  them
go  astray".  The  Prophet  (PBUH)  also  said,   "Each
child is born in a state of "Fitrah", then his  parents
make him  a  Jew,  Christian  or a  Zoroastrian,  the way
an animal gives  birth  to  a  normal  offspring.  Have
you   noticed   any   that   were   born    mutilated?"</em>
(Collected by Al-Bukhaaree and  Muslim).</blockquote>  So,  just  as
the child submits to  the  physical  laws  which  Allah
has put in nature, his soul also submits  naturally  to
the fact that Allah is his Lord and Creator.  But,  his
parents try to make him follow their own way and the
child is not strong enough in the early stages  of  his
life to resist or oppose the will of his  parents.  The
religion  which  the child  follows at this stage is one of
custom and upbringing and Allah  does  not  hold  him
to account or punish him for this religion.</p>
<p>

  Throughout  people's  lives  from  childhood  until
the time they die, signs are shown  to  them  in  all
regions  of  the  earth  and  in  their  own   souls,
until   it becomes clear that there is only one true God
(Allah).  If the people are  honest  with  themselves,
reject their false gods and seek Allah, the way will be
made easy for them but  if  they  continually  reject
Allah's signs and continue to worship  creation,  the
more difficult it will be for  them  to  escape.  For
example, in the South Eastern region  of  the  Amazon
jungle in Brazil, South America,  a  primitive  tribe
erected a new hut to house their main  idol  Skwatch,
representing the supreme God  of  all  creation.  The
homage to the God, and while he  was  in  prostration
to what he  had  been  taught  was  his  Creator  and
Sustainer, a mangy old flea-ridden  dog  walked  into
the hut, The young man looked up in  time  to  see the
dog lift its hind leg and pass  urine  on  the  idol.
Outraged,  the  youth  chased  the  dog  out  of  the
temple, but when his rage died down he realized  that
the idol could not be the Lordof the universe.  Allah
must be elsewhere. he now had  a  choice  to  act  on
his knowledge and seek Allah, or  to  dishonestly  go
along with the false beliefs of his tribe.  As strange  as
it may seem, that was a sign from Allah for that  young
man.  It contained within it divine guidance  that  what
he was worshipping was false.</p>
<p>

Prophets were sent,  as  was  earlier  mentioned,  to
every  nation  and  tribe  to  support  man's   natural
belief  in  Allah  and  man's  inborn  inclination   to
worship Him as well as to reinforce  the  divine  truth
in the daily signs  revealed  by  Allah.  Although,  in
most   cases,   much   of   the   prophets'   teachings
became  distorted,  portions   remained   which   point
out   right   and   wrong.   For   example,   the   ten
commandments  of  the  Torah,  their  confirmation   in
the  Gospels  and  the  existence   of   laws   against
murder, stealing and adultery in most societies.
Consequently, every soul  will  be  held  to  account
for its belief in  Allah  and  its  acceptance  of  the
religion of Islam; the total submission to the will  of
Allah.</p>
<p>
We pray to Allah, the exalted,  to  keep  us  on  the
right path to which He has guided  us,  and  to  bestow
on us a blessing  from  Him,  He  is  indeed  the  Most
Merciful.  Praise  and  gratitude   be to Allah,the Lord of
the worlds, and  peace  and  blessings  be  on  prophet
Muhammed,  his  Family,  his  companions,   and   those
who rightly follow them.</p>

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